


Home Away from Home

by MsJoyMaeda



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 11:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8159966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsJoyMaeda/pseuds/MsJoyMaeda
Summary: Nagito wanted to know what the human world was like one day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I start another chaptered fanfic when school starts.
> 
> Yep, totally a good idea!

      His parents warned him, again and again, to not venture out so far. When he was a young merman, he would overhear stories of their kind getting caught in nets or being captured against their will. But, surely it can’t be true anymore, correct? The events took place so long ago that they must be myths and urban legends by this point. There haven’t been reports of merpeople going missing in years. Yet, his parents restricted his freedom from exploring the vast size of the sea.

      “It’s too dangerous,” they told him every day, “you may never know what could happen to you.”  He took their warnings to heart, while still feeling skeptical about the whole ordeal. Maybe, just maybe, the entire sea isn’t as terrible as they remember it being in the past. The world changes overtime, and one day he plans to prove that it changed for the better for the merpeople.

      He had this plan in mind for months on end. He wanted to choose the perfect day when he would set it into action. He dragged his timid friend, Mikan, into the mess, and did not breathe a word of it in his parents’ general direction. When he finally settled with a date, the days seemed to wrap up much quicker. As the day inched closer, and agonizingly so, Mikan couldn’t help but feel the anxiety creep up on her.

      Before she knew it, the day arrived. There was zero backing out when Nagito gripped her by the wrist and tugged her along.

* * *

 

      With the sea as large as it is, who knows where the two may end up. Nagito didn’t release his grip on Mikan’s wrist, due to a small fear of her wandering off. “N-Nagito,” she commented, “I-I can swim on my o-own…” Nagito remained silent, tuning her out and focusing on the path ahead. The sun shone high in the sky, its rays penetrating the water and illuminating the way. However, the rays can only reach so far, leaving the rest of the underwater world in a dark abyss.

      How far have they traveled? Nagito didn’t bother to keep count. On the other hand, Mikan’s worry increased with each passing minute. The distance between them and merpeople civilization grew at a steady pace. Will they ever make it back home? Will they get lost? These questions and more continued to pile up in her mind. Anxiety bubbled up within her, and she almost felt dizzy. However, she needed to stick along… for Nagito’s sake.

      The mermaid noticed a fuzzy shape appearing in the distance. From the way Nagito stopped, he took note of it as well. He finally released his grip from her wrist, and the two of them swam toward it. They moved down a bit so that the sun’s rays wouldn’t give them away. The shape cleared up in the salty water as they swam closer. It was tall and thick. In fact, there was more than one - wooden poles held up a wooden deck above the water.

      They kept a fair distance between them and the deck. They poked their heads above the water just enough so that they can see. Small boats, three of them to be exact, rested near the deck. Humans stood on the deck, their backs turned to the duo and chatting with one another. One began to turn to face them. Mikan panicked, and quickly ducked underwater, while Nagito continued watching.

      The human in question wore a comfy, white shirt and loose-fitting shorts. Flip-flops squeaked with every movement of his feet as he approached and boarded a vacant boat. The sun lightly tanned his skin, and his short, chocolate brown hair rested on his head all snug beneath a sailor hat. He took off the hat with one hand, and waved to his buddies with the other. He said something to them, but Nagito couldn’t make it out.

      The merman watched, intrigued by their movements. Another human boarded the boat. This one was much smaller in height and lighter in skin tone compared to the other. A third human, this time a girl with bright lilac hair, shook her head before boarding. Nagito instinctively leaned closer to listen in on their casual chatter. Suddenly, a strong grip on his arm yanked him back underwater. Mikan eyed him with a concerned gaze. “W-We should start heading back,” she suggested. Nagito shook his head. “No way. I want to get to know these humans,” he stated. He prided Mikan’s grip off of his arm and swam closer to the boat.

      Their voices became clearer as he got closer. He made sure to stay out of their central cone of vision. “I highly doubt we’ll find any sharks willing to eat us.” the girl spoke up. The short guy frowned in response to her remark, while the tanned guy chuckled. “We don’t have much longer to use this boat,” he mentioned, “let’s use it while we can.” He placed the sailor hat back on his head, and kick-started the boat’s motor.

* * *

 

      They made it back before sundown, long before darkness swallowed up the entirety of the sea in its deathly pitch-blackness. When his parents asked him where he was, Nagito lied through his teeth and stated he was at a friend’s house all day with Mikan. Since it was going to be rather dark soon, Mr. and Mrs. Komaeda offered Mikan to stay the night, which she whole-heartedly accepted. 

      Later that night, Nagito stayed up late reading one of his favorite books. Mikan slept on a makeshift bed on the floor, clearly out cold. Mrs. Komaeda entered the room, and sat down on the edge of her son’s bed. She ran her fingers through his unruly white locks. “You should get to bed, Nagito. It’s getting late,” she suggested. Nagito placed his book down without argument, getting himself comfortable on the bed.

      The next morning, Nagito came to the decision of swimming back to the same deck on his own. He began to swim away, only for his dad to catch him. “Don’t you want to take Mikan with you? You two seem to be growing closer ever since you became childhood friends.” Nagito declined his offer. “No. She is still tired, anyway. I don’t want to wake her up,” he replied. Mr. Komaeda merely shook his head. “You are kind at heart, Nagito. I wouldn’t give you up for another child.”

      After giving his father a swift kiss on the cheek and telling him he was visiting neighbors, Nagito swam away. He retraced the path, making note of anything that would guide him. There’s that similar bit of coral, and the sea anemone with clown fish inhabiting it. A big grin blossomed on his face when he saw the wooden poles come into view.

      He still kept a fair distance away from the deck as he poked out his head. As he expected, the usual boat rested by the deck. The lightly-tanned human from yesterday sat down on the deck, his legs swinging off the end. His sailor hat rested beside him. Nagito gently swam closer to get a better look at him. He stared at him, studied him, and savored every detail of his arms and legs. He stayed there for hours, losing track of time. The other left here and there, but soon returned to the deck.

      It was long past dark, and Nagito realized he wouldn’t be able to make it back home. “Crap,” he mumbled to himself. He moved back underwater, slowly swaying his tail so that he moved at the pace of a leisure stroll. Due to it being pitch black, he didn’t take notice of the net in front of him. He swam head-first into it, screaming in shock when he collided into it. He thrashed around in it, attempting to escape, but to no avail. All he can do is allow the current to wash him up ashore, and he fell asleep while doing so.

* * *

 

      Nagito woke up in an unfamiliar place. He found himself lying on top of a bed of sand. The merman rolled over onto his side, only to nearly have a heart attack. He jerked back in surprise upon seeing a human child stare at him. A wall of glass separated them, and the child pressed their face against it. The child said something to their mother, but the barricade muffled whatever they commented about.

      He swam away to the other side, only to encounter another wall of glass. He had no idea where he resided, since he didn’t know what an aquarium tank was. Curious, he swam around the tank with an arm stretched out in front of him. His hand would come in contact with glass, and he frowned afterward. Someone put him in an enclosed space… but who?  
  
      Up above, someone opened the hatch that was the entrance to the tank. Nagito swam up to it out of reflex, sticking his head out above the water. His face flushed immediately upon seeing who it was - the tan sailor boy from earlier.


End file.
